News

Portola Valley meets on affordable housing site

The Portola Valley Town Council plans to meet in closed session at 5 p.m. Monday, July 2, to discuss the terms for acquiring the 1.68-acre parcel at 900 Portola Road, the former home of Al's Nursery, where the town might build housing affordable to those with moderate incomes.

Town Attorney Sandy Sloan and council member Ann Wengert will negotiate with property owners Geoff and Colleen Tate, the town announced.

The discussion will include parcels owned by the town in the Blue Oaks subdivision. Officials have talked about selling the parcels to finance the purchase of the former nursery property.

The meeting takes place in the Historic Schoolhouse at 765 Portola Road in Portola Valley.

I thought that Windmill School was buying this land? And were working together with the Town? Did Windmill back off, or is the Town being aggressive and competing (after cooperating) or did the seller's change their approach?

Posted by Lane-Jacobson
a resident of Woodside: Family Farm/Hidden Valley
on Jul 5, 2012 at 4:32 pm

Moved to P.V. 48 years ago, (now Woodside) as the mail service changed our town back and forth several times. We have 5 acres on the corner of Portola Road and Farm Road. As the Town of Portola Valley is willing to get into the real estate and development business, perhaps we should look into selling our 5 acres to Woodside, knowing they too have been unable to fulfill the BMR request of the state. They could fit 40 homes on our land, perhaps resulting in 80 more cars trying to access Portola Road during morning rush hour. This would also allow 160 more people to live and work here, and approximately 400 more kids to go to the P.V. schools. I just hope the town doesn't get sued for anything, like kids falling into the creek, as no fences are allowed on the wild life corridor. If so-would the town then have to tax residents for millions of dollars to pay for all this? Am also wondering if any of this is legal, and how many on the town council live near this proposed project that would certainly devalue all near by properties.

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